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“I use ‘disruptive’ in both its good and bad connotations. Disruptive scientific and technological progress is not to me inherently good or inherently evil. But its arc is for us to shape. Technology’s progress is furthermore in my judgment unstoppable. But it is quite incorrect that it unfolds inexorably according to its own internal logic and the laws of nature.”

Five causes of collapse appear paramount: major episodes of climate change, crises-induced mass migrations, pandemics, dramatic advances in methods of warfare and transport, and human failings in crises including societal lack of resilience and the madness, incompetence, cultic focus, or ignorance of rulers.

Liberal democracy and capitalism have been the two commanding political and economic ideas of Western history since the 19th century. Now, however, the fate of these once-galvanizing global principles is increasingly uncertain.

In her new book, Not for the Faint of Heart, Ambassador Sherman takes readers inside the world of international diplomacy and into the mind of one of our most effective negotiators―often the only woman in the room. She discusses the core values that have shaped her approach to work and leadership: authenticity, effective use of power and persistence, acceptance of change, and commitment to the team. She shows why good work in her field is so hard to do, and how we can learn to apply core skills of diplomacy to the challenges in our own lives.

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| July 12, 2017

Sherwood-Randall Returns to Harvard to Tackle Issues at Intersection of Energy and National Security

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Former Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is joining Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as a Senior Fellow, the Center announced today. Sherwood-Randall, who has served in the White House and Departments of Energy and Defense, is returning to the Center where she worked in the 1990s to help establish two pioneering projects – the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project with Graham Allison, who this month stepped down as the Center’s director, and the Preventive Defense Project with Ash Carter, the former Secretary of Defense who is the new Belfer Center director.

In her new position as non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center that she considers her “intellectual home,” Sherwood-Randall plans to advance her work at the intersection of national security and energy security, including research on cutting-edge science and technology essential to our nuclear security and to a clean energy future. She is keenly interested in protecting U.S. energy systems from cyberattacks, preventing further WMD proliferation, and motivating the next generation of talent to tackle hard problems and pursue public service. (See more on her plans here.)

As Deputy Secretary of Energy from 2014-17, Sherwood-Randall was the Department’s chief operating officer, overseeing a budget of nearly $30 billion and a workforce of more than 113,000 people. She provided strategic direction for DOE’s broad missions in nuclear deterrence and proliferation prevention, science and energy, environmental management, emergency response, and grid security. Previously, she served as Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control (2013-14). During the Clinton administration, as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, working with then Assistant Secretary of Defense Carter, she led the effort to denuclearize three former Soviet states following the collapse of the Soviet Union, for which she was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Nunn-Lugar Trailblazer Award.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Liz for nearly a quarter century,” said Belfer Center Director Ash Carter. “Her scholarship and public service on behalf of safeguarding our national and energy security is second to none. From security alliances and nuclear proliferation to cyber defense and energy innovation, Liz exemplifies the Belfer Center’s commitment to a more secure, peaceful world. We are thrilled to welcome this world-class strategist and true patriot to our community.”

"I am delighted to rejoin the Harvard Kennedy School community as a Senior Fellow after serving for eight years in the Obama administration,” Sherwood-Randall said. “The Belfer Center’s superb track record in tackling the world’s toughest challenges at the intersection of science and international affairs makes it an ideal place to continue my engagement on vital and interconnected issues of national security, energy security, and economic security."

Sherwood-Randall worked at the Belfer Center from 1989-92 as Associate Director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, which she co-founded with Allison. She rejoined the Center in 1997 as a founding principal of the Preventive Defense Project, a joint research venture with Carter and William Perry that developed initiatives to prevent the emergence of major new U.S. security challenges. In early 2009, she was named Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs on the White House National Security Council, where she led the revitalization of America’s alliances and partnerships in Europe. In 2013 she was appointed the White House Coordinator for Defense Policy, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Arms Control, a position she held until her confirmation as Deputy Secretary of Energy in the fall of 2014.

Along with her extensive career in government, Sherwood-Randall has also worked at Stanford University, the Council on Foreign Relations, and The Brookings Institution. Born and raised in California, she attended college at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude, and received her doctorate in International Relations as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford University. She is married to Dr. Jeff Randall and they have two college-aged sons.

Analysis & Opinions
- Foreign Policy

| Apr 26, 2019

In the Spotlight

Bruce Alberts

The House Appropriations Committee has proposed a $2 billion increase in funding for the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Why, then, is the U.S. scientific enterprise in jeopardy? Venky Narayanamurti and Bruce Alberts explain.

Belfer Center Director and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will receive the prestigious Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun award for strengthening Japan-U.S. relations in the areas of security and defense.

John P. Holdren, Co-Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program and former Presidential Science Advisor, will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star for work with Japan in science and technology.